Climbing shoe with a tension support sole

ABSTRACT

A climbing shoe with a tension support attached to the heel area and toe area of the sole to assist climbers in maintaining a curve shape in their foot. The tension support pulls on the heel area and toe area of the sole to assist the climber in maintaining the ideal curve shape to support their weight on small footholds. The tension support reduces the fatigue on the climber&#39;s foot and calf muscles. The curve shape of the foot with the toes pointing down is ideal when a climber must support his entire weight with his toes on small footholds. The tension support is made of an elastic material that can flex and allow the sole to flatten out on larger footholds.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not applicable.

BACKGROUND—FIELD OF INVENTION

The invention relates to climbing shoes, specifically climbing shoe witha tension support sole that assists the climber in maintaining a firmfoothold on the rocks.

BACKGROUND—DESCRIPTION OF PRIOR ART

The invention relates to climbing shoes. More particularly, the climbingshoe with a tension support sole relates to climbing shoes where atension strap creates a curved shape to assist climbers in maintaining afirm foothold on the rocks.

Traditional climbing shoes have generally flat surfaces on the bottom ofthe climbing shoe. With a flat surface, the edges of the toe are placedon small footholds on the rock. Just the placement and pressure of theflat bottom surface of the shoe on the rocks assists in maintaining thefoothold on the rocks. The climbing shoe needs great stability, sincethe whole weight of the individual may be supported by just the edges ofthe toe and the climber's hands. The climbing shoe must retain a solidhold on the rocks, when the climber stretches to reach the next footholdor handhold in the rocks. Often, the entire weight of the climber mustbe supported by the edges of the toes in small footholds or rockcrevices. When a climber is supporting his weight with his toes, theclimber must rely on his foot and calf muscles to maintain his foothold.During a climb, the climber's foot may suffer fatigue and the climbermay not be able to support himself with his toes. As a result, climbingshoes with flat bottom surfaces can be prone to slipping and losingtheir grip on the rocks.

The ideal shape of the sole when a climber supports his weight on smallfootholds with the toes, is a curve with the toe areas pointing down. Onsmall footholds, the climber must maintain this curvature of the footusing his foot and calf muscles. This curvature maximizes thetransmission of weight along the climber's body to the toes. This curvedshape also reduces the fatigue on the climber's toe and calf muscles.However, a rigid curve shape is not desirable because a climber must beable to flatten his foot on larger footholds.

There is a need for a climbing shoe where the sole can maintain a curveshape in the sole for small footholds and also flex for largerfootholds. The curve shape of the sole will allow climbers to maximizetheir grip on small footholds by properly transferring the climber'sweight down his body to the toes with minimal effort and fatigue. Theability of the sole to flex is also important to allow the climber toadjust his foot on different footholds. The soles of walking shoes arenot designed for climbers to transfer their weight to their toes. Thesoles of walking shoes are designed to flex to cushion the impact of theground on the foot.

The prior art includes walking shoes that have a bottom outer sole withoutside edges that protrude lower than the remaining inner portion ofthe bottom outer sole. The shape is designed to flex when walking toabsorb some of the impact of the foot upon the walking surface. Thecurvature of the outer sole does not remain rigid, and the inner portionof the bottom outer sole flexes to touch the walking surface duringwalking. The edges are thicker than the other areas, so sensitivity islost. The climber cannot adequately sense and feel the footholds, whenthe edges are thick. This walking shoe design is most disadvantageousfor climbing.

The prior art includes climbing shoes that allow greater flexibility inthe sole than the traditional walking shoes.

In one prior art design, U.S. Pat. No. 5,926,974 to Friton, the soletread pattern adapts to all types of ground due to its adjustable studprofile. As the foot presses down, the sole changes shape to grip theground contours and on soft ground the studs penetrate the soil. As theweight is taken off the sole, it releases energy, giving the wearers anadded spring in their step. The changing shape of the sole isadvantageous for walking, but can be detrimental in rock climbing. Asole that flexed and changed shape to easily would be susceptible tolosing a grip on a rocky ledge. Furthermore, the studs may prevent aclimber from effectively feeling the foothold with the foot.

In another prior art design, U.S. Pat. No. 5,384,973 to Lyden, the solehas flex joints to allow the sole to flex facilitating the independentmovement of the toes. A sole with flex joints that assist independentmovement of the toes does not help a climber maintain a foothold usingthe toes. Greater flexibility in the toe area is not advantageous forclimbers maintaining a foothold with their toes.

In another prior art design, U.S. Pat. No. 4,546,559 to Dassler, thesole is made of flexible plastic with molded projections on its runningsurface. The shoe is designed for track and field use and is optimizedanatomically for the foot during running. The flexibility offered by thesole is not advantageous for climbers maintaining a foothold with theirtoes.

The prior art also includes shoes with less flexibility in the sole thantraditional walking shoes.

There is a need for a climbing shoe that can provide stability to thesole for climbers using their toes on small footholds and also allow forsome flexibility in the sole for larger footholds. A tension supportlocated in the sole that will pull the sole into a curve shape providesboth the stability and flexibility a climber needs. A climbing shoe witha tension support sole will provide the ideal curve shape in the sole toeffectively transfer the weight of the climber to the toe area. Thetension support sole will also permit the sole to flex to assist theclimber in maintaining grip on larger footholds.

These and further features and advantages of the present invention willbecome more obvious from the following description and drawingsrepresenting an embodiment of the invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A climbing shoe with a tension support sole fulfills the objective of aclimbing shoe that will provide both stability and flexibility forclimbers on both small and large footholds. The invention pertains to asole with tension support that will pull the sole into a curve shapeideal for climbers to transfer their weight to the toes on smallfootholds. The primary objective of the present invention is to providean ideal curve shape to the sole to assist climbers on small footholdsand, at the same time, allow some degree of flexibility in the sole toassist climbers on larger footholds. This objective is achieved by usinga sole with a strap or separate piece of elastic material to pull theheel and toe area of the sole together to form a curve with the toe areapointing downwards. This curve is formed and maintained with the tensionprovided by the elasticity of the material used. The use of the tensionsupport to pull on the toe and heel also provides flexibility to thesole for climbers when they must use more than the toe area to supporttheir weight on larger footholds.

The climbing shoe with tension support sole includes an upper portionencasing the top of the foot and a sole covering the bottom surface ofthe shoe. The climbing shoe has a toe area and a heel area. The tensionsupport is created when a piece of the sole is attached to the heel areaand the toe area and separate from the middle area. The tension supportpulls on the toe and heel area forming a curve in the sole with the toearea pointing downward. The tension support allows the curve to flex andassume a flatter shape depending on the surface it is placed on and theweight distributed along the climber's foot.

The climbing shoe with tension support sole is further described withdetail in the appended figures, description and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side view of the climbing shoe.

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the climbing shoe showing the bottom of thesole.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Referring to FIG. 1 through FIG. 2, a climbing shoe 10 includes an upperportion 11 and a sole 12 attached to the upper portion 11. The sole 12has a toe area 13 and a heel area 14. A tension support 15 is made ofelastic material, substantially similar to the sole 12 and is attachedto the heel area 14 and the toe area 13. The toe area 13 has stiffnessto prevent flexing. The sole 12, the toe area 13 the heel area 14 andthe tension support 15 are made of rubber and extend up the flashes ofthe climbing shoe 10. The toe area 13 surrounds the bottom, front, andfront-sides of the foot. The heel area 14 surrounds the bottom, sides,and heel of the foot.

The sole 12 maintains a substantially curve shape as a result of thetension support 15 pulling on both the heel area 14 and the toe area 13.The sole 12 maintains a substantially curve shape with the toe area 13pointing downwards.

Referring to the side view of FIG. 1, the upper portion 11 can includeany material commonly used for shoes, such as leather, nylon and cottonfabrics. The upper portion 11 has a height ‘h’. The upper portion 11 hasa substantially uniform thickness and covers the top of the wearer'sfoot. The sole 12 is made of rubber and has a thickness ‘t’ and issubstantially uniform. The sole has a toe area 13 with a thickness ‘t1’that is greater than the thickness ‘t’ of the sole 12. the sole has aheel area 14 with a thickness ‘t2′ that is greater than the thickness‘t’ of the sole 12.

Referring to the bottom view of FIG. 2, the sole 12 has a shapesubstantially conforming to the shape of the foot. The sole 12 has awidth ‘w’ and a length ‘l’ that may vary depending on the size of theclimbing shoe. The tension support 15 is attached to the heel area 14and the toe area 13. The tension support has a width ‘w1’ that is lessthan the width ‘w’ of the sole 12. The tension support has a length ‘l1’that is less than the length ’1′ of the sole 12.

Reference Numerals in Drawings

-   10 climbing shoe-   11 upper portion-   12 sole-   13 toe area-   14 heel area-   15 tension support

1. A climbing shoe comprising: a) an upper portion; b) a sole; and c) atension support made of an elastic strap; wherein the tension support isattached to the toe area of the sole and the heel area of the sole,whereby the tension support pulls on the toe area of the sole and theheel area of the sole, whereby the tension support can assist climbersin maintaining a curve shape to their foot with the toes pointingdownward.
 2. The climbing shoe of claim 1, wherein the tension supportpulls the climbing shoe into curved shape with the toes pointingdownwards.
 3. The climbing shoe of claim 2, wherein the tension supportis sufficiently elastic to allow the sole to flex whereby the sole canflatten out.
 4. The climbing shoe of claim 3, wherein the heel of theclimbing shoe is surrounded in rubber.